


The Season of Love and Understanding

by flightinflame



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies)
Genre: Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Gen, Snow, Snowball Fight, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 08:22:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13231827
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: Wrapped up warm, Credence ventures out into the snow with his friends.





	The Season of Love and Understanding

**Author's Note:**

> To accompany a beautiful picture Lourdesdeath sent me, and inspired by TriffidandCuckoo's discussions

"You look cold," Queenie told Credence, standing in front of him. Credence couldn't help thinking that Queenie looked like a princess, wrapped in a pale pink coat edged with soft white fur, earmuffs and a scarf in the same pale pink protecting her from the cold.

"Thank you pumpkin," she murmured with a smile. "I just don't want you to be cold."  
"I'm not," he promised. He'd been used to trying to survive in the depths of winter wearing only his suit, when he displeased Ma and she banished him from the house at night. He'd sneak into subway stations to steal what warmth he could until he was moved on, knew which buildings threw out heat - now though, Theseus had wrapped a warm cloak around his shoulders, and he had even been given some gloves before they had ventured to the Goldstein's place. He didn't think he had ever been this warm in winter.

Queenie stared at him, then moved forwards to embrace him tightly. It took a few seconds before he realised she had overheard his thoughts, and he tried to look ashamed. It was hard to look ashamed when you were being cuddled protectively, and he let her hold him, startled at the softness of the fabric she was wearing.  
"You need a hat," she told him, walking to the table and picking up a hat, and some earmuffs, and a scarf that trailed along the floor as she carried it over. A wave of her wand had the scarf wrapping itself firmly about his shoulders, covering up half of his face. "There, much better."

Credence blinked at her from over the top of the scarf, planning to open his mouth and point out that he didn't need this, that she was worrying too much, spoiling him even.  
But the scarf was very warm.  
"I know it is deary, you need to be warm, it's good for you. Too much cold is only going to make you sick, now, come on..." She extended her hand towards his, and he saw her gloves were white silk, trimmed with soft fur. He reached out with a smile, and she apparated with him to the park, Theseus and Tina joining them a moment later.

Newt raced over to see them, looking a little harassed, wearing a blue and green scarf around his throat.   
"That scarf..." he began, then flinched a little, digging into his own thinner scarf and pulling out a rather irate looking Pickett. He deposited the bowtruckle on Credence's shoulder, and it instantly buried itself among the folds of the fabric. "Sorry, he doesn't like the cold," Newt explained.  
"Was he biting you?" Theseus teased. The embarrassed look on Newt's face, twinned with Queenie's gentle laughter, was more than enough to answer the question. Credence was glad for his scarf then, knowing it would hide his smile. He didn't want any of his friends to think he was being rude.

"No one's going to think you're rude sweetie," Queenie interrupted his thoughts, resting her hand on his arm. "We all know you, and unlike the rest of this rabble," she gestured at the assembled crowd, pausing and gesticulating particularly to Tina, "we know that you are polite."  
"Oh," Credence mumbled into his scarf. He could hear Pickett chirruping to himself from the depths of the fabric.

Credence glanced up at Newt, and then blinked and glanced again. What he had initially taken to be a scarf was actually several of the occamy, twisted together, almost braided.  
"You're wearing your occamy?"  
"They didn't want to be left. But I'm sure they'd be more comfortable in the scarf-" Before Credence could object, Newt was picking up his scarf, and carefully cupping it in his hands until it shrunk. He placed the smaller occamy on the scarf, and they too burrowed into the fabric.

Credence stared, wondering how exactly he was meant to respond to this.  
"You married into a family of lunatics," Queenie told him softly, her hand rubbing his back. Credence would have argued, but he'd been outside for less than five minutes, and already was wearing a scarf infested with creatures.  
"Please tell me there's nothing else about to cause problems."  
"Nothing," Percival answered as he strode over to them. "The No-Maj repelling charms are up, Newt has been given strict instructions to keep his pests within his case, and Miss Queenie?" he raised a hand, gesturing towards the distant figures that were stood on the ice. "Jacob is already here. Last I saw, he was speaking to Madame President about pastries. He brought samples."

Queenie giggled, and ran off to greet her lover. 

Credence paused, looking at Newt curiously.   
"You aren't about to try and hide the erumpent under my hat are you?"  
"Of course not." Newt smiled. "She'd be under your cloak, she wouldn't fit under your hat."  
Credence realised that answer nearly made sense to him, and decided it was a sign that he had spent entirely too long with Theseus and his brother.  
"The erumpent is meant to be in the case," Percival pointed out, his voice edging towards threatening. Newt merely laughed.  
"She would struggle on the ice, and is probably too heavy for it." 

Credence nodded, wondering if Newt thought that was reassuring, and whether or not he'd be in trouble for having half a dozen occamy nestled against him. On the one hand, Percival was unerringly patient when it came to Credence, treating him gently even when he made mistakes. On the other hand, the occamy could occasionally cause problems.

On balance, Credence suspected he was safe, for now at least. 

Newt smiled at him.  
"Come on, I want someone to make snow angels with." He threw himself back into the fine white powder, waving his arms and legs as he drew out the shape in the snow. Credence looked down at him curiously, then shook his head.  
"I don't want to get my cloak damp," he mumbled. Newt nodded as he clambered back to his feet.  
"Alright. But I can spell it dry if you'd like. Or you can not."  
"I'd like not to," Credence whispered, and Newt embraced him tightly.  
"That's alright. Plenty of other things to do."  
"We're going to make a snowman," Theseus explained, glancing at Percival. "Are you helping?"

 

Looking bored, Percival withdrew his wand, waving it in elegant sweeps as he caused three balls of snow to form, and then to stack on top of each other, as tall as a man. Theseus applauded, then smirked.  
"It's taller than you."  
Percival waved his wand again, the action sharper than before, and a half inch of snow disappeared from the top, leaving the snowman shorter. Credence smiled into the warmth of his scarf.

"That's not the proper way to do them," Theseus complained, looking at Newt. Newt had been distracted by Jacob waving a pastry at him, and quickly slipped away. "You want to make a real snowman Credence?"

Credence hesitated only a moment, before he nodded. Ma would have said such an act was frivolous, that it was a waste of time, that it was sinful. But like so many things that he had been told were wrong, it was fun. He took his freedom where he could.  
"Please," he agreed, listening as Theseus instructed him in how to form the initial core, and pack more snow around it. He followed the instructions, startled as his gloves stopped his hands from getting cold. 

Theseus smiled and threw his initial core at Credence. Credence ducked out of the way, a swirl of darkness emerging from his hand to catch the snowball and return it. Theseus applauded, and no one else commented on what had happened. Credence swallowed, then looked down at the small ball of snow he was working on.  
"We're making a snowman first," he reminded Theseus, proud of his ability to stand up for himself. He knew Theseus would never hurt him.

The smile Theseus gifted him in response made his heart feel light. Theseus had a way of looking at you that made you feel precious, and Credence was thankful for every one of those smiles. It was further proof that what had happened before wasn't who he was, even when it had nearly destroyed him. This was his reality, and it was better than anything he could ever have dreamed of.

Under Theseus's tutelage, he made the ball of snow larger, rolling it across the ground. The occasional leaf or stick stuck to the ball, but Theseus removed those with a quick flick of his wand, leaving the snowballs looking perfect. Eventually, it was too large for Credence to move unaided, and Theseus helped him, before they stacked the three spheres to create the basic shape of the man.

Theseus flicked his wand again, summoning a few dark pebbles.  
"You can use these to decorate the snowman if you'd like," he instructed. Obediently, Credence added the stones to the face, drawing out a smile and two dark eyes. A carrot was added by Theseus, to give him a nose.  
"There we go," Theseus smiled. "You should go and see if Jacob has any spare pastries left." 

Credence nodded, turning his back on Theseus and walking over to Jacob, smiling a little as he was pulled into a gentle embrace. It was soothing. Jacob might not have been magical, but he was kind, and he was gentle. He was the kind of person that Credence had never expected to meet - just too good, too pure, too kind. Credence was a shadow, and he had never expected to meet people that were light. But Jacob was always delighted to see him, embracing him and letting him cuddle up close.

"Hello," Credence greeted him. "I thought they put up barriers?"  
"Only once I was already inside," Jacob explained. "Queenie invited me."  
"I did," Queenie agreed, approaching Jacob and kissing his cheek. "I wanted him here..."  
Credence nodded, quietly, and smiled as he was handed a pastry roll in the shape of a niffler. He knew from previous experience that it would be filled with soft fruits and spices, sweet treats that he never would have dreamed of in his previous life. He bit into it as Theseus approached, a mischievous smile resting on his lips.  
"Snowball fight?" Theseus suggested, resting a hand on Credence's shoulder. "You can be on my side if you'd like?"  
Credence hesitated, glancing at Tina, who had wandered away a short distance with Madame Picquery, their fingers brushing slightly as they spoke. Queenie shook her head, and that would leave the teams as him and Theseus against Newt and Percival.

He could say no, he knew that. But part of him wondered if it might be fun. He gathered up all of his courage, and nodded quickly. Theseus responded by grabbing a handful of loosely powdered snow, compressing it in his hands and sending it sailing towards his brother. Newt yelped and ducked, but Theseus was already sending another snowball ducking and diving through the air towards Percival, who stumbled slightly at the force of the impact, before looking up, extremely unimpressed by the whole situation.

It wasn't long before his eyes narrowed, focusing on Theseus, and he set forwards a volley of snowballs with his wand, each striking Theseus in the chest. Theseus laughed, returning the blows with snow of his own.

Away from the intensity of their duel, Credence risked throwing a small snowball at Newt. Newt grinned and returned it with one of his own.

It was hard not to feel guilty for playing this game, not to imagine his glee as sinful. But it was fun, being here with Newt. He saw a movement out of the corner of his eye, and saw Jacob and Queenie were sitting side by side, hovering above the pond with a broomstick. He stared in shock for a few moments, before he accepted what he was seeing. It made sense that they would use broomsticks if they were witches, and Jacob certainly looked comfortable.

His distraction meant that Newt was able to sneak up on him, and a snowball hit his jaw. He yelped, and Newt immediately looked guilty, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing a cup of cocoa. The two of them sat down on the snow, watching as the aurors fought each other with snow and playful spells. Newt smiled fondly, and Credence found himself smiling as well, before pausing as he saw that the snowman had gained a few additions since his decorations. He gently tugged on Newt's arm.

The snowman was now dressed in a blue coat, an addition that Theseus must have provided. It had clearly confused some of the creatures - Dougal was holding onto one of the branch arms the snowman had, and the niffler was perched at his feet, evaluating his latest treasure. Newt laughed a little when he saw it, going to help his creatures. Credence closed his eyes, trying to remember this. Winter had always been his least favourite time of year, filled with hunger and cold and fear. He didn't think it was his least favourite any more. Not after a day like today, not after this small miracle. Theseus approached, snow coating his hair. He had clearly lost. He grinned, pulling Credence into his arms, and Credence looked up at him, knowing he belonged.


End file.
